Jordaan bids for Cosafa presidency

Two months after quitting as ANC leader in Nelson Mandela Bay, Danny Jordaan will again attempt to wrestle the leadership of the Council of Southern African Football Associations (Cosafa) this month.

Jordaan goes head to head with no fewer than seven contestants for the Cosafa presidency in Sun City, North West, on December 17.

It will be the second time he tries to get elected to the top leadership of the regional body, following his withdrawal in the face of a looming defeat in Gaborone in 2011.

Then, Jordaan was said to have been "aloof" as he apparently didn't do much lobbying, with regional observers claiming he had banked too much on his international standing rather than doing any groundwork.

It appears Jordaan has, this time, done some campaigning, even though as recently as October, he was still the leader of the ANC in the Nelson Mandela Bay council, resigning in that month to return to his position as Safa president.

He will be up against incumbent Suketu Patel of the Seychelles, Frans Mbidi of Namibia, Mohamad Sobha of Mauritius, Pedro Neto of Angola, Zimbabwe FA president Phillip Chiyangwa and Alberto Junior of the Mozambican FA.

"All candidates have submitted their papers and are eligible to contest the election," confirmed Sue Destombes, chief operations officer of Cosafa. "We will elect a president, vice president and five executive members."

Jordaan has wasted no time campaigning after leaving politics, where he was mayor of Nelson Mandela Bay until the ANC's defeat in the local government elections in August.

A source close to his campaign said the Safa president had met with nine regional presidents to lobby their support, and Sowetan understands a serious game of horse trading will take place in Rustenburg starting next week, when dignitaries start arriving for the Cosafa under-20 tournament, which coincides with the election.

While he's a candidate for re-election for a third term, Sowetan has been informed that Patel will withdraw and throw his lot in with Jordaan, in exchange for the latter's support for a Fifa executive committee post, with CAF set to hold elections in March to fill the position.

Mozambique's Alberto is also expected to withdraw and support Jordaan. Apparently, last month's friendly international between the Mozambicans and Bafana Bafana - which Jordaan attended in Maputo - had little to do with football but the looming election.